Charleston advances to 2nd straight CAA championship game

Mar 6, 2018, 04:53 am

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Grant Riller scored 25 points for his 13th game this season with 20 or more and top-seed Charleston beat William & Mary 83-73 on Monday night to advance to its second straight Colonial Athletic Association Tournament championship game.

Joe Chealey added 16 points, Jarrell Brantley scored 14 and Cameron Johnson 11 for Charleston (25-7), which won 25 games for a second straight season and eighth in its NCAA Division I history (1991-present). The Cougars will play No. 2 seed Northeastern Tuesday for a chance at their first NCAA Tournament bid since 1999.

Johnson hit Charleston's sixth 3-pointer of the first half for a 37-31 lead. The Cougars started the game making 5 of 9 from distance, but missed their next nine. Riller scored 18 points in the half to help Charleston build a 39-34 advantage and Nathan Knight kept William & Mary close with 17 points.

Riller sank a wide open 3-pointer from the corner to cap a 9-2 run for a 69-59 lead with 5:20 remaining.

Knight led No. 4 seed William & Mary (19-12) with 31 points on 13-of-18 shooting.